5 Tips for Your Tenants at Christmas

It is a busy time of year, when your tenants are likely to be away visiting friends and family. A vacant property can be vulnerable to burst pipes, so make sure that your tenants protect themselves and your property from disaster:

TIP 1 – Leave the heating low & avoid burst pipes

As the temperature starts to drop below zero at night, pipes expand and contract. Any existing problems or slow leaks are likely to get worse, so make sure they get fixed now.

Tenants don’t always report issues as quickly as possible, and often wait for a couple of issues to crop up before reporting them.

TIP 2 – Ask your tenants if they have any small plumbing jobs, and get them fixed sooner rather than later.

If the worst does happen and there is a leak in your property, your tenants can be your first line of defence.

TIP 3 – Make sure your tenants know where the stop tap is… and how to use it!

It’s tempting to keep all of the windows firmly shut to conserve heat, but it is equally important to ensure rooms are well ventilated, to prevent the build up of mould.

TIP 4 – Open a window every so often, particularly in bathrooms and kitchens.

Even if you have taken all the right steps and had your boiler regularly serviced, boiler breakdowns can still occur. At this time of year tradesmen get particularly busy and it can be weeks before you can get someone out.

A property management service which sends high volumes of work to a tradesmen is always going to take priority.

TIP 5 – Make sure you have a reliable tradesmen in place

When something goes wrong, it can be a hassle finding the right person to fix it. To help you, we recommend you build a strong network of tradesmen you can trust. Look for word of mouth recommendations to ensure you have only the most reliable and trustworthy people working on your property. If you experience serious problems then you may be covered by your landlord insurance policy. Ensure you are covered for every outcome.